Travel Team

Staff Pick

Sportswriter Mike Lupica brings style to his first young-reader title about a small boy, a basketball court, and a father to live-up-to in this story that young men everywhere (and their dads) might understand all too well. Recommended by Erik L., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The #1 Bestseller!

Twelve-year-old Danny Walker may be the smallest kid on the basketball court — but don't tell him that. Because no one plays with more heart or court sense. But none of that matters when he is cut from his local travel team, the very same team his father led to national prominence as a boy. Danny's father, still smarting from his own troubles, knows Danny isn't the only kid who was cut for the wrong reason, and together, this washed-up former player and a bunch of never-say-die kids prove that the heart simply cannot be measured.

For fans of The Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, the Mighty Ducks, and Mike Lupica's other New York Times bestselling novels Heat, The Underdogs, and Million-Dollar Throw, here is a book that proves that when the game knocks you down, champions stand tall.

Review:

"Sports columnist Lupica (Red Zone) clearly shoots from the heart in this appealing novel centering on a talented basketball player. Danny, after playing for two years for the Vikings, fails to make the seventh-grade travel team because he is 'too small.' The team is coached by the overly intense Jeff Ross who, as a boy, was always the second-best player on the Vikings — just behind Danny's father, Richie, who led the Vikings to a World Series victory. Richie went on to become an NBA star until a car accident ended his career. Now divorced from Danny's mother, the man returns to town and offers to organize and coach a second travel team, the Warriors. Lupica thus sets the scene for on-court action, and delivers play-by-play descriptions of the team practices and games that will thrill basketball buffs. The novel's emotional pitch intensifies when Richie is seriously injured in yet another car accident, Danny takes over as coach of his team, and Ross's son, Ty, the star of the Vikings, defects from his father's team to join the Warriors. Danny's budding romance with his long-time friend Tess adds a sweet, pleasingly corny sideline to the plot, which culminates with the showdown between the rival teams. To Lupica's credit, the narrative never lingers too long on the fathers' rivalry, instead keeping the focus on Danny, his teammates and his family. The novel includes some genuinely affecting moments, especially those depicting Danny's rapport with each parent. Ages 10-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Lupica's "New York Times" #1 bestseller tells the story of 12-year-old Danny Walker, the smallest kid on the basketball court, who's cut from the very travel team his father led to national prominence as a boy.

Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica makes his return to the basketball court!

There's a reason teammates call him "True." Because for basketball phenom Drew Robinson, there is nothing more true than his talent on the court. It's the kind that comes along once in a generation and is loaded with perks--and with problems. Before long, True buys in to his own hype, much to the chagrin of his mother, who wants to keep her boy's head grounded--and suddenly trouble has a way of finding him. That is, until a washed-up former playground legend steps back onto the court and takes True under his wing.

Synopsis:

In his first novel for young readers, the author of "Wild Pitch" and "Bump and Run" tells the story of a 12-year-old Danny Walker, the smallest kid on the basketball court who's cut from the very travel team his father led to national prominence as a boy.

About the Author

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

Book Dads, January 15, 2010 (view all comments by Book Dads)
Danny Walker has lots of heart, but heart is not always enough when you’re always the shortest kid on the basketball team. Despite his skills and drive, Danny gets cut from the local travel team for reasons that may have everything, or nothing, to do with his height. And it’s not just any team, it’s the one that his dad Richie led to a national championship when he was a boy. It’s not fair, but Danny doesn’t expect help from anyone – least of all his dad. The injury that took Richie Walker out of the game of basketball also put his entire life into a tailspin, leaving him a divorced and aimless drifter with only the memory of his glory days left. But when Danny’s dad comes back into town and into his life, he volunteers to coach another travel team himself, one made up of all the kids who were cut just like Danny was. Together, Danny, his father, and their ragtag team hit the court for their own shot at the championship and personal redemption.

Danny’s relationship with his father is front and center in this story, and once again author Mike Lupica () shows us that he deeply understands the emotional life of boys. He shows us through Danny’s eyes how a boy’s drive and his love of basketball collide with an adult world of ambition and small-town politics. Travel Team is also a story of a boy growing up in a divorced family, and of how his life has changed even as he remains the son of both of his parents. Danny understands each of his parents in a way that they don’t understand each other, and this is most evident between Danny and his father. Richie Walker is a man who has met the challenges of life and been – or rather, allowed himself to be – defeated by them. Despite this, Danny never stops looking up to his father and seeing his admirable qualities, even as he also unflinchingly sees his father’s shortcomings. Richie Walker can’t put his life back together by himself, but by trying to be a better father for his son he also becomes a better man for himself. Travel Team attests to the deep and sustaining bond that can exist between fathers and sons despite the realities of life that can conspire to push them apart, and is a book about a lot more than just basketball.

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Sportswriter Mike Lupica brings style to his first young-reader title about a small boy, a basketball court, and a father to live-up-to in this story that young men everywhere (and their dads) might understand all too well.

by Erik L.

"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"Sports columnist Lupica (Red Zone) clearly shoots from the heart in this appealing novel centering on a talented basketball player. Danny, after playing for two years for the Vikings, fails to make the seventh-grade travel team because he is 'too small.' The team is coached by the overly intense Jeff Ross who, as a boy, was always the second-best player on the Vikings — just behind Danny's father, Richie, who led the Vikings to a World Series victory. Richie went on to become an NBA star until a car accident ended his career. Now divorced from Danny's mother, the man returns to town and offers to organize and coach a second travel team, the Warriors. Lupica thus sets the scene for on-court action, and delivers play-by-play descriptions of the team practices and games that will thrill basketball buffs. The novel's emotional pitch intensifies when Richie is seriously injured in yet another car accident, Danny takes over as coach of his team, and Ross's son, Ty, the star of the Vikings, defects from his father's team to join the Warriors. Danny's budding romance with his long-time friend Tess adds a sweet, pleasingly corny sideline to the plot, which culminates with the showdown between the rival teams. To Lupica's credit, the narrative never lingers too long on the fathers' rivalry, instead keeping the focus on Danny, his teammates and his family. The novel includes some genuinely affecting moments, especially those depicting Danny's rapport with each parent. Ages 10-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
Lupica's "New York Times" #1 bestseller tells the story of 12-year-old Danny Walker, the smallest kid on the basketball court, who's cut from the very travel team his father led to national prominence as a boy.

"Synopsis"
by Penguin,

#1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica makes his return to the basketball court!

There's a reason teammates call him "True." Because for basketball phenom Drew Robinson, there is nothing more true than his talent on the court. It's the kind that comes along once in a generation and is loaded with perks--and with problems. Before long, True buys in to his own hype, much to the chagrin of his mother, who wants to keep her boy's head grounded--and suddenly trouble has a way of finding him. That is, until a washed-up former playground legend steps back onto the court and takes True under his wing.

"Synopsis"
by Libri,
In his first novel for young readers, the author of "Wild Pitch" and "Bump and Run" tells the story of a 12-year-old Danny Walker, the smallest kid on the basketball court who's cut from the very travel team his father led to national prominence as a boy.

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